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Diversity has been a driving force that has fueled the way Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan does business for the last 75 years. Blue Cross is proud to support local diverse businesses and will host the 10th Annual Supplier Diversity Awards on February 17, to honor diverse suppliers who stand out by consistently delivering high-quality products and services. Businesses like BSC Solutions and Epitec are leaders and are two of this year’s potential award recipients.
BSC Solutions specializes in IT professional services and IT consulting. They supported the Benefit Configuration application, known as the source of truth for product and benefit information for over 50,000 groups. This application integrates with quoting, membership, claims and servicing application for Blue Cross. Raj Narang, vice president of BSC Solutions, is honored by the award nomination.

“It is a great honor for BSC to be nominated for the Supplier Diversity Award. It recognizes our contributions as a valued partner of BCBSM. This nomination will give BSC wider recognition within BCBSM and hopefully create new opportunities for us.”

When asked why diversity is important to BSC, Narang spoke highly of the value of bringing people together for one common goal.

“BSC promotes a culture based on shared culture and respect for culture and diversity in the workplace. Diversity, for us, is about valuing our differences but staying united as we achieve shared business and professional goals.”

Epitec is a business that matches qualified candidates with prospective companies who will be able to add immense value to a company, a task they do not take lightly. Anthony Hollamon, executive vice president for Epitec, speaks on how their business focuses on making diversity and collaboration a part of their corporate culture.

“Diversity isn’t just a choice anymore, it’s a competitive differentiator. Without diversity within our organization and outside
amongst our vendor and partner base we wouldn’t effectively service the current and future needs of our customers. Diversity provides the insight, acumen and knowledge base we otherwise wouldn’t have access to going in it alone. We surely wouldn’t be able to execute on our mission or accomplish our future goals.”

Beyond providing products and services of high caliber, diverse suppliers also have strong ties to the local community. Mercury P&F has been a preferred supplier for Blue Cross for several years and has won multiple Supplier Diversity awards over the last few years. Mercury is a unique single source solution for a variety of marketing services including branded merchandise, fulfillment and warehouse services and digital storefront solutions, to name a few. Mercury provides a diverse array of services so it is no wonder their business is strong on having a diverse staff.

Tina Harmon, owner of Mercury P&F, exudes imminent passion for her business and the values they represent as a company. Harmon spoke on her experience working with a diverse staff.

“I have found that diverse teams, suppliers and clients encourage diverse ideas. There is countless data on how increased performance from diversity within teams and groups increases innovation and thought leadership. The explosion of social media has grown our company’s reach and it has provided opportunities for the team to be successful in considering global customers as prospects. In order for the company to grow, diversity of thought is an imperative business need.”